Love Hina: Together Again
by lumosinsempra
Summary: AU - Multi-chapter - At the end of another year at Tokyo University, Shinobu travels to Tokyo to meet with Naru and Keitaro. Meanwhile, Seta makes discoveries on Alendrasati Island, and what's going on back at Hinatasou?
1. Prologue: Turtle Trouble

Hello all! This is a new multi-part Love Hina fanfic, and the story will probably take an AU direction. I hope that everyone enjoys it, and constructive criticism is of course welcomed. All such commentary will be responded to in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

-lumosinsempra

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**Love Hina: Together Again  
****Prologue**

**_'Turtle Trouble'_  
**

_Alendrasati Island, Pacific Ocean_

Norisatu Seta's pick-axe fell once more on the rocks that lay in front of him, the tall, slender male throwing all of his weight against the digging tool. The stone shattered harshly in the wake of the blade, falling around and about and splintering, and the hole in front of the Tokyo University professor widened just a little more.

All of the force he had contributed had had so tiny an effect on the progress of his digging.

The beads of sweat grew and continued to grow as he repeated the motion, breaking the rocks down in front of him under the strong heat of the sun, surrounded by very little other than water and a few huts; a number of other diggers worked nearby, but this was not the large-scale excavation team he was used to.

Many people had said that Seta was more than a little extravagant to pursue this particular venture. Alendrasati had long been regarded as worthless. Recent evidence that one of Seta's contemporaries had uncovered suggested, at least to this professor, that there was something of value to be found here, but very few would support the venture, and only his most valued friends had agreed to contribute.

He hadn't even spoken to Sarah of this, for she'd only want to come along, and Seta didn't want for her to be part of a potentially pointless venture, love the Californian girl as he did.

So she'd stayed at Hinatasou while he'd departed with his team and his trademark white van, which he'd already smashed up several times. Naturally Seta's indestructible form had survived again and again, and here he was, back at full strength, fighting the rocks to see if the majority of the archaeological field were indeed correct.

Still, it was the start of the Todai summer holiday, which gave him a little time to indulge his desires. It was his time to waste, after all, and if he was wrong... well, he'd still had some good times digging.

His _indulgent_ thought however led to a badly-aimed strike of the axe, and the entire dig collapsed.

Seta wiped his brow, and after a moment, shrugged it off, and started again.

_Shinkansen_

Shinobu Maehara's locks of black hair followed her on the journey today. She sat in the direction inverse to the motion of the train, her gaze dancing over the scenery that passed them by. It elicited in her particularly fond memories of the past, as it did every time she took this journey.

The black hair had grown lengthier and thicker over the years, naturally, and her confidence had become similarly voluminous; although Shinobu was by no means an extrovert now, she had gained a little in confidence and her friendship with Kaolla Su had, progressively, brought the youngest Maehara some happiness. And Su had so much of that to give - a little had proven the perfect balance for Shinobu.

The train rushed on, the sunlight growing lesser as the vehicle thundered toward its destination, and Shinobu took out a small bag of cookies that she had produced for the trip, nibbling at one, and gazing over at her bag, in which she carried similar bags for the people she was travelling to meet.

No doubt, she missed them. Everyone at Hinatasou did. Since Naru and Keitaro had moved (term-time only) to Tokyo, only coming back to the Hinata during holidays, the house had seemed empty. The remaining residents had kept the buildings together, but it didn't make their absence any easier.

But now they would be back for several months. And everyone was in high spirits at Hinatasou as a result.

Shinobu met them each time they were to come home at Tokyo and accompanied them on the journey. The others prepared for their arrival back at the dorm. It had become something of a tradition. Shinobu loved her role in this. It always brought a rush of joy to her heart when she saw them at the station, waiting for her as much as she waited for them at home.

The light glinted off of the window near to Shinobu, and then, outward, over the silver body of the train as it raced on.

_The Next Step Café, Tokyo_

Some twelve minutes previously, Keitaro sat in the Next Step Café, his head resting on the pages of an old textbook. He'd gotten rather used to the mass amounts of study that university entailed, but even so... today he was simply exhausted. Lucky Naru wasn't here, she wouldn't want him sleeping like this.

_"Congratulations Keitaro, you have graduated with honours..." a voice came from in front of him. "In fact, a perfect score! Superb!" _

_Keitaro, grinning, turned to each side of him to find Naru one side and Mutsumi the other, both holding his arm and both giggling too, and he turned back to receive his degree. "Thank you very mu-AHHHH!"_

_For the presenter had turned into Motoko. "Did you honestly think you could pass Keitaro? Secret Technique - Rock Splitting Sword!" _

_Apart from being blasted into a nearby wall and falling to the ground, when Keitaro looked up again, he saw Naru's dark face looking down at him. "Keitaro you haven't been studying hard enough have you? Well?"_

_So next he found himself on the receiving end of a punch that shattered his glasses and sent him flying through the roof of the building and off into the sky..._

"Keitaro?" Naru's soft voice roused the man from his idle sleep.

"No, Naru, don't punch me!" Keitaro muttered, waving his hands vaguely in front of him.

"I won't if you hurry up," she told him. "It's ten minutes to five - we've gotta go!"

As the sleepy man rubbed his eyes, then brought his watch to his face, his eyes bulged. "Oh no! We've gotta be at the station in ten minutes! Shinobu will be so upset if we don't get there and it's half an hour away from here and no, Naru, don't..."

"Will you calm down?" Her words rode the tail end of a punch that shattered, once again, his glasses, and this time very real. "We can still get there, let's go!"

And with that, he grabbed everything - or everything, he thought - from the table and rushed off, dragged by Naru all the way to the station.

Just a few minutes later, someone passed what had been his table, and when they had gone, that table was once again empty.

On the streets as they made their way to the station, Keitaro rubbed his face to try and make it swell less. He had no idea how he survived so many of Naru's kicks and punches, but somehow, he did. Was it for a promise? For love? Or just because he, Keitaro Urashima, was invincible? He really didn't know. "Oh well..."

"Stop mumbling, Keitaro, we've gotta get to the station!" Naru considered one of her trademark kicks to get him there faster, but ruled it out in favour of the walk. It was nice to be out in the air - the both of them spent so much time couped in classrooms and in their rooms during the term. As such, Naru had grown to appreciate the value of nature much more than she had previously. And those hot springs... it wasn't an overstatement to say that Naru was _really_ looking forward to getting back home, where the hot springs would be waiting for her...

_Hinatasou_

"You did WHAT?" Motoko screamed, as the shadow of something enormous covered her form.

Su jumped up and down on the spot, smiling happily. "I turned the hot springs bath into a nice little turtle preserve for Tama and her little friends! Complete with a minature water park, look!"

Motoko's expression, a mixture of disgust and fear, was the dominant force in the room. "More... turtles?"

"Yeah! Tama brought a whole flock of them home! I couldn't just leave them out in the cold so I converted the bath so they'd be all nice and warm! Don't you like it Motoko?"

Haruka, in the background, sighed. "Oh, brother..."

_Alendrasati Island_

As he continued to dig, Seta's tired body began to grow weary. He'd done a lot of work today, and that would undoubtedly mean he'd ache in the morning. Lucky he could stay in and catch up on some of his paperwork; although, like Keitaro, he was largely indestructible, he did, on occasion, need to take a break.

The paperwork would be a nice change; unlike many, Seta didn't despise it, both for its value in relaxation, and because he loved his work. He had once told Keitaro that it wasn't a big deal that he was a professor at Tokyo University - there was good reason for this. He enjoyed the work he did so much, and Tokyo U facilitated that. The prestige the post he held afforded him was a bonus, but it wasn't his primary reason for being there.

His primary reason then showed itself.

His axe clanged on something hard and metallic. Something that glinted in the light.

Putting the tool to one side carefully, he moved closer and adjusted his glasses as he focused carefully on it.

"Whoa..." was all that he could say at what he saw...

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**So, that was it...** what did ya think? Please feel free to leave your comments, and I'll post the next chapter soon! 


	2. Chapter 1: En Voyage

**Love Hina: Together Again  
Chapter One**

**_'En Voyage'_**

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**Review Replies** since the last update... 

Thank you to **airstep**, who reviewed Chapter 1! I've taken your comments into consideration and revised and added to the Prologue, including a little bit more in the way of plot.

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**Author's Note:** _This fic will make use of some of the manga canon story, but not all, making this an AU story; the following presumptions are made:_

_-Naru and Keitaro reside at Tokyo University during study periods; and  
-Naru hasn't admitted her love for Keitaro just yet._

And now, on with the fic! Here's Chapter One - En Voyage.

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_Streets of Tokyo_

"Naru, can't you slow down just a LITTLE BIT?!?" Keitaro yelled out after the girl that was now a good fifteen metres in front of him. Honestly, did she always have to run so far ahead? Naru had become even more athletic since joining Tokyo University, and her punches and kicks had gained in strength – as well as her general fitness and running speed. Keitaro's, meanwhile, had gone down through the constant study he'd been forced to endure at Naru's behest. He loved her – that much was obvious to all and sundry – but he also made great sacrifices for her.

And so far, she hadn't even let him know if she felt the same! All this for a 'maybe'. It was the person he was, but that didn't make it any less difficult to keep up with the flying star.

Right now, it looked like she was 'flying' away from him. Keitaro's expression dipped as she distanced herself; it was too symbolic for comfort. She was getting away from him, and it felt all too real.

"Come ON Keitaro!" a voice from far ahead boomed back at him, and he picked up the pace as much as he could. By the time they got to where Shinobu was waiting, he'd be totally exhausted, but then he could sleep on the train ride home, which undoubtedly they'd be taking immediately…

_The Station_

"Shinobu!" Naru gave the girl a huge hug, which showed on Maehara's face – both the joy, and the blatant shock at how hard Naru had squeezed her! "It's wonderful to see you again. Beautiful weather, isn't it?"

"Oh… umm… yes, it's lovely!" Shinobu's expression spoke much about how pleased she was to see Naru. "Urmm… where's Keitaro?"

"Right… here… Shinobu… arghh!" Keitaro's face was very, very red as he rounded the last corner, then finally collapsed at her feet, under the weight of numerous bags and books, and gasped painfully for air.

"Sempai… Keitaro… are you alright?" Shinobu had already bent down and knelt in front of him to check his vitals. Her soft voice whispered concern all about Keitaro, and as she helped him back up, she added, "Let me carry some of things for you."

"He's fine, Shinobu," Naru now spoke up. "He's just out of shape, that's all."

"Out of shape?" Keitaro gasped as he made to stand. "You made us RUN all the way to the station!"

"Only because you fell asleep at the coffee shop!" she retorted, turning away from him.

"We could have taken a taxi! But oh, no. Naru 'Super Athlete' Narusegawa had to run _all the way here_, didn't she?"

Naru shook her head, and scoffed. Shinobu, meanwhile, had managed to right Keitaro and the three now stood in some form of group, albeit with Naru facing away from the other two. "Come on, we've gotta get on the train if we're gonna get home tonight."

"Oh…" Shinobu's voice remained quite quiet, as it always was. "I'm afraid we just missed the train. We'll have to wait a couple of hours now for the next one."

Naru's gaze instantly turned back to Keitaro. "See what you've done now?"

And within seconds, Keitaro found himself flying through the sky again…

Shinobu's eyes followed Keitaro's trajectory. "Perhaps you shouldn't do that to him, Naru."

"Why not? He's a pervert and a peeping tom and an idiot. And as much as I care about him, he has to learn not to be."

Silence ensued between them, such that the tumbleweed's passing was noticeable.

"I mean…" she began, as Shinobu's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, I don't mean in that way, Shinobu!"

"You said it. You like him, Naru!" Shinobu replied affirmatively.

"Nonsense. I like him as a friend, and he's good as a study partner, but I could never love him!" she blurted out. A twang of regret soon followed at that possibility; she had spoken out against her own heart, and she knew it.

Or had she? Really?

"Oh, I don't know," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked her, catching her off guard.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Come on, let's go and find somewhere to eat until it's time for the train." Naru changed the topic quickly, and moved on.

"What about Keitaro?" Shinobu put her hand on Naru's arm to stop her.

"Oh, he'll meet us there," Naru nodded. "Look." She pointed ahead of her, where Keitaro had just landed in the street, and was picking himself up.

As Naru started to walk off again, Shinobu shook her head, and then began to follow.

_Restaurant 'Sumo', Tokyo_

Keitaro brushed off some snow from his jacket that he had managed to catch hold of during his most recent flight with Narusegawa Airlines as he took his seat at the table, and sat opposite Shinobu intentionally, preferring to avoid the glances coming toward him from Naru's direction.

"Ummm, guys," Shinobu said, looking uneasy, "I can't afford to eat in a place like this."

Keitaro smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, Shinobu. I'll pay for you."

"But… I can't expect you to do that!" Shinobu blushed, quite uncomfortable.

Ignoring a glare that was blatantly coming his way from Naru, Keitaro's smile did not wane. "Don't worry about it."

The smile that ensued from the younger girl was worth the glare that Naru had shot, although the smile faded a bit when he added, "I'm your apartment manager. It's my job to make sure you're alright."

With food ordered, the three finally relaxed a bit, and Naru was talking about her term away, Keitaro adding his own comments here and there. "Hey, Keitaro, do you remember that field trip to Okinawa?"

Keitaro laughed. "Mutsumi and her watermelon barbecue? That was the best! And then the hot springs afterward…"

"Me, Keitaro, Mutsumi and twenty others trying to fit into a tiny hot springs bath. It was a great laugh… oh, priceless. And then Mutsumi's Watermelon Ball afterward…" Naru stopped laughing, the smile fading, too. Keitaro, similarly, seemed dampened. "Good times, eh, Keitaro?" she tried to cover, looking at him urgently.

"Umm… yeah. Good times. That's the good thing about being at Tokyo U, Shinobu… so many people to… hang out with. Yeah." He didn't like where this was going and he didn't want the memory resurfaced.

Apparently Shinobu wasn't ready to dive into that, so she made a note to ask at a later date. Maybe she could get Keitaro on his own. She wouldn't dare ask Naru.

"So, how did you do on your end of term exams?" she asked, and both of the two she sat with livened up almost instantly, grateful at the change of topic.

"I passed! Got an 85," Keitaro said proudly.

"What about you, Naru?" Shinobu turned to face the other girl.

"I got an 87," Naru admitted, looking disillusioned.

"That's really good, Naru. Well done!" Shinobu could sense that Naru didn't believe it, though, despite the smile she got in return.

"How about you, Shinobu? How are you doing at high school?" Keitaro decided to ask, trying to get away from yet another uncomfortable topic. He chanced a smile at Naru, but she either didn't see it, or ignored it – he wasn't sure which.

"Oh, my teacher says I'm getting better," she offered, embarrassed. "I'm doing my best to do as well as you two do. But you should see how well Su is doing. And what she's doing at home… she's made a lot of upgrades to the apartments."

"What kind of upgrades?" Somehow Keitaro envisioned many, many bananas and booby traps being involved.

"She gave me this message for you." Shinobu pulled something out of her bag, and handed it to Naru. It was a business card – 'by Su' and a large banana logo adorning one side, whilst the other contained something hand-written. Naru read it aloud:

_Naru, Keitaro,_

_Can't wait to see you! Anyways, the entire Hinata House is like a real fun house now! Kitsune loves it, Motoko ain't so sure but I think it's wonderful! Lots of booby traps and other Su products to keep you entertained for weeks! I hope you brought me some bananas back! Tama-chan says hi!_

_ Su _

"Ahhh…" Keitaro muttered.

"We don't have…" Naru started.

"…ANY bananas," Keitaro finished. "Does this mean…"

"…we're going to get creamed by Su's fun house? Oh, yeah," Naru put the card on the table, where it promptly exploded. "Oh, and the card self destructs as well."

"Bananas are a good thing to have now," Shinobu advised them. "Universally accepted currency of the Hinata House. Enough of them buys you Su Enterprises' Trap Map."

"Something that'll be more useful for any of these books," Keitaro glanced over his shoulder at a pile half a metre high of texts.

"How are Motoko and Kitsune?" Keitaro asked, realizing little had been said about the others thus far. He missed them, too. Well, he was likely to get doubly creamed with Motoko and Naru both around – actually, _trebly_ creamed if you counted Su's House of Tricks – but he still felt odd without them around.

"They're both fine. Kitsune started writing a book about a guy that runs a girl's dorm-"

"Wonder where we've heard that one before," Naru smirked.

"Sounds far-fetched, but you know, it could happen!" Keitaro offered.

"-and Motoko is, as usual, practicing with her sword. She is the only one so far to have survived all of Su's traps, because she can blow them away with her sword," Shinobu affirmed.

Keitaro gulped. "Why do I get the feeling I'll be feeling that sword very soon?"

Naru pounced, grinning at him, knowingly. "Because you're a huge pervert, Urashima!"

"It was an accident!" he called out. "I didn't mean to, Naru, I swear!"

"What was an accident?" Shinobu leaned forward, her eyes beginning to look teary again at the thought of any foul play between Naru and Keitaro.

"Nothing!" they replied in startled unison.

Shinobu sat back again, smiling uncomfortably.

Two hours passed and Keitaro, Naru and Shinobu were all decidedly fuller, and Keitaro had disappeared from the table to pay the check. Despite Naru's insistence to the contrary, he had decided he would pay for hers too; it wasn't that he felt the need to make amends, so much as just wanting to make a nice gesture.

That left Shinobu and Naru at the table, giving Shinobu the chance to pose some more questions. "Why are you so nasty to Keitaro? Really, Naru?"

"I'm not nasty to him, Shinobu…" Naru told her, after a sigh. "I just have to push him, or he slacks off and doesn't try hard enough. He's like that."

"He's never seemed like a slacker to me," Shinobu proffered quietly.

"Well… I don't really mean like a slacker. I mean he gives up too easily." Of course, she was being entirely hypocritical and she knew it – Keitaro had never given up on Naru Narusegawa, no matter how many times she'd punched and kicked and insulted him. But she felt the need to protect what she really felt, and that need never seemed to wane.

"But please don't hit him so much, Naru-chan," Shinobu put forward carefully. "He… he's important to me."

Biting back a pang of jealousy, and then feeling incredibly guilty for its arising in the first place, Naru smiled, and made it a warm smile this time. She'd called her Naru-chan, and Shinobu didn't do that too often. Plus, really, she was just as fond of him, even if she didn't admit it. "Alright. I'll try. For you, Shinobu."

Shinobu's gratitude was reflected in the smile she sent back to Naru, just as Keitaro returned from paying. "Ready, Naru, Shinobu?"

Naru said nothing, returning to her former tougher stance, while Shinobu nodded, aiming some of her smile at Keitaro now, and he led the way out of the restaurant. Naru and Shinobu walked slightly behind, giving Keitaro enough time to reach the door and hold it open for them to exit.

His glance lowered, and his expression faded in intensity a bit, as Naru didn't even flash him a glance. Was she really that angry with him? What was it with her these days? The last few weeks had proven difficult for them both as they had taken their end of term exams, but she had been particularly cold with him of late, and he had no idea why – it was something he was going to have to clear up, because he didn't like arguing with her like this, and he could tell that Shinobu wasn't getting a kick out of it either.

Oh well. He had a train ride home to consider it, although he wanted to get some sleep before dealing with what Su had in store for them…

_Shinkansen_

The train proved incredibly comfortable and its soft lighting allowed for the small group to get some rest on the way home. Shinobu handed Keitaro and Naru the bags of cookies she had made for them, which had proven a real delight for both; however, it hadn't been long before Naru had fallen asleep in her seat, and Shinobu followed suit soon thereafter. Keitaro looked over at Shinobu, cutely hunched up in the seat opposite, and then turned his head leftwards to gaze at Naru.

It was true that she was beautiful. No-one could deny that.

But Keitaro thought she was most pretty when she was sleeping. The violence departed as she spent time in her dreams, her hair fell softly over her face, and her breathing was calm and regular. It was so soothing, and although Keitaro didn't get to sleep next to Naru often, on those rare occasions when he had been so fortunate, he had found himself much more relaxed the next morning.

And only once or twice had she used one of her attacks on him during the night. She would occasionally mutter things about his so-called perversion, but luckily enough, he was often asleep when she did.

Keitaro's eyes soon drooped and he joined Naru in the land of sleep. It brought many interesting visions to him; in tonight's episode of _Keitaro Goes To Dreamyland_, he found himself playing the role of Agent U.

_"Let's put it on," Haruka, or H, told him._

_"What?" Keitaro asked, curious._

_"The last suit you'll ever wear," she replied._

_"Sweet!" U called out, brushing down his new threads._

_"Hahahaha!" Agent S flew around the command centre on Mecha Tama X-2, flashing a small metallic device around. "You will all become slaves of Agent S! Hahahaha!" she laughed._

_"Quick! Put your glasses on," Haruka yelled, and Keitaro quickly did, protecting him from Su's onslaught. "Who's my partner?"_

_"Agent N, of course," a sultry voice commented from behind him._

_Keitaro turned to see Naru, her attire leaving nothing to the imagination. She wore a tight white blouse with a couple of open buttons, a short black skirt and a similarly-coloured blazer, and a pair of black glasses completed the outfit._

_"No amount of neuralysing from Su will make you forget me," she whispered in a tone that Keitaro found absolutely ravishing. His eyes gazed over her body, and particularly at the blouse, just as he…_

…found his head leaning over into Naru's chest. Still on the train, the other two were still asleep in the darkness.

Instinctively, he screamed – and Naru awoke immediately, her eyes making contact with his, and a moment later…

"No! Naru! It was an accideeeeeeeeeeeeee…" he yelled out as he went flying down the train, propelled by a particularly powerful Naru Punch.

"Hmph," she snorted, and went back to sleep.

_Shinkansen – The Other End of the Train_

"…nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnt!" Keitaro finished his scream just as he made contact with the bulkhead at the other end of the train and bounced back hard onto the floor. Refusing to move for a few minutes out of sheer spite, he nonetheless jumped when he heard a very familiar voice from above him.

"Are you alright, Kei-kun?"

Oh no.

_Her_ voice.

If Naru caught him with _her…_

"Mut… sumi?" he muttered, and then collapsed back onto the floor.

Mutsumi Otohime looked down at him sympathetically, then helped him into the night-train cabin she had reserved. "Poor Keitaro. Did Naru punch you again?"

He didn't answer. _Of course she did! That's all she does these days!_

"You poor baby. Let me look after you." She placed him on a spare bed underneath her own, as she had taken the top bunk.

"What are you doing here, anyway, Mutsumi?" Keitaro managed to form a few words that would hopefully keep her talking long enough for him to regain some of his strength.

"Oh, I thought I'd come and visit the Hinata Apartments. A little surprise for Naru and you. You both look so down lately, and I thought I could cheer you up. That's all."

An announcement closed the space where Keitaro would undoubtedly have been required to speak. "Attention all passengers. Due to a technical fault, this train will be delayed arriving at our destination of Hinata Hot Springs. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

"Oh, great…" he muttered. "I'm tired…"

"Go to sleep here, Kei. I'll make sure you get up when we arrive. Just do me one favour?"

"What?"

"Don't tell Naru and co that I'm coming. I still want it to be a surprise!"

_How we're going to manage that now, I have no idea…_ "Alright."

Giving one last thought to what Naru might say, Keitaro decided he needed his sleep, and, his head in Mutsumi's lap, gave in.

He was later awoken by a squeal that he knew all too well, and then a shout of his name that was _laced_ with that tone he knew equally well…

"Keitaro… fine! Be with her if you want to! I don't care!"

Barely awake, he spotted Naru running off into the now-sun-brightened corridor as the train made its final progression into Hinata, and he turned to his left, horrified by what he saw.

Mutsumi's form was there, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

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As before, please tell me what you think of this chapter! I look forward to reading your reviews! 


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